In my opinion, American Express lounges are the best non-airline airport lounges. While some are better than others, the one here at IAH was a solid place to relax for an hour between flights. The only down side is finding the IAH Centurion Lounge is really difficult the first time, it’s almost like a speakeasy the way it’s tucked into a duty free shop. I visited the lounge when making the trip home on United from Las Vegas.
Once inside, the lounge is great. It’s not huge, but when I visited, it wasn’t very crowded. I did miss the lack of a view, but the space is well kept, the bar is good, the buffet is stocked. The only downside is that the IAH airport is huge, I really wouldn’t go out of my way just to visit the lounge unless I had a really long layover. For this review of the Houston Centurion, it aligned perfectly with my departure gates.
Bottom Line: Once you find the IAH Centurion Lounge, it’s a great. The I enjoyed the Amex lounge and would gladly return.
IAH Centurion Lounge Location
The IAH Centurion is located in Terminal D. Terminals D and E are used for lots of international flights here. These terminals are connected with a walk way, that’s good for me as I’m departing from the E Terminal for my next flight.
To get to the Centurion Lounge, you have to go into the iS Duty Free store that’s at gate D12. along the back wall there is a hallway, at the end of the hallway there is an elevator. Go into the elevator and go down one floor. Once here, there is a hallway, head down the hallway and you’ll see the entrance to the Centurion Lounge.
There’s not a lot of documentation or signage for this process. I did find one sign that is near the escalator that leads to the SkyWay transit system.
I’d really only recommend coming down here if you are departing from the D/E Terminal or if you have a really long layover. Just remember to check the lounge hours and access rules.
IAH Centurion Lounge Space
Walking into the lounge, it’s devided into two main spaces. A sitting area with a few different types of chairs and tables. Then in the rear is the bar and buffet area.
While not a huge space, when I visited the IAH Centurion lounge it was pretty busy. I was still able to find a space, but I wouldn’t say it was empty. Once thing you’ll notice is that there are no windows with a view to the outside.
There’s quiet a diversity of seating for a small place. In the seating area there are low lounge chairs with tables, these would be great for just relaxing with a drink and snack. A few boardroom style tables with chairs, kinda like a bar top, would be good for eating and getting a drink with your laptop out. Low top tables with chairs that would be good for working and eating or if you have 2 people and want to eat together.
IAH Centurion Lounge Bar Area
In the rear of the lounge is the Bar and Buffet area. Back here there is a large wall booth that shares tables with regular chairs. There are also some low top tables along with seating directly at the bar.
Like all Amex Centurions there is a well stocked bar with liquor, wine, and beers. They also had a few taps of local beers available on draft. The bar tenders were very friendly and did a great job of handling the volume of people and requests.
Because I’m by myself it’s easiest for me to just belly up to the bar. I got a nice local Octoberfest beer, I don’t have too long here, just about 85 minutes between flights, so I only had one.
IAH Centurion Lounge Buffet
The buffet area for the Amex Centurion is against the wall in the bar area. The buffet is divided into 3 areas. The first area is a cold salads section. There was a couscous salad then two types of lettuces. To accompany them there were several toppings like chicken, humus, and veggies.
Next there is a selection of hot dishes. Tonight they had rice, chickpeas, braised beef, and squash. At the end there was a soup.
Of course the third section is deserts. There was a pudding and then cookies.
I grabbed a small plate of rice with chickpeas, braised beef, and lettuce. I had just eaten a sandwich on the United flight here to IAH, so I didn’t really want a full meal, just a heavy snack.
IAH Centurion Lounge Bathrooms
Down a hallway next to the bar are the bathrooms. There’s also a shower room here that you can get access to by talking with the front desk.
IAH Centurion Lounge Final Thoughts
The IAH Amex Centurion Lounge is very nice, Centurion Lounges, in my opinion, are the best of the credit card lounges. While not the easiest place to find, once inside it’s worth the effort. I would worry that during really busy times, this lounge becomes overcrowded, it’s not the largest place in the world.
I enjoyed my visit and was glad to get a quick snack and drink. The buffet options are very solid, not crazy extensive, but what they do have is very good. If you really wanted a full meal, it’s certainly possible to make a full meal.
I was only here for about a half hour, but if you had more time to kill, the comfy lounge chairs would be a great place to relax. I’d gladly return.
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